Ukraine’s location, bordered on each side by two of the world’s largest trading blocs, and with access to the sea, has always had a geographic edge when it comes to logistics and trade. But today, this is enhanced by growing digital innovations which make it an extremely attractive choice as a strong and sustainable partner for European businesses. Ukraine also ranks highly in the starting a business in the Doing Business Global Ranking: out of 190 countries, Ukraine ranks 61st when it comes to starting a business.
What’s promising for the future of Ukraine’s infrastructure and energy sector is that the government is firmly on board when it comes to developing the country’s technical innovation.
The Concept for the Development of the Digital Economy and Society of Ukraine for 2018-2020, presented the basic principles of digitization offering new opportunities for investment and trade.
One of the companies embodying the improvement of Ukraine’s infrastructure and energy grid, using IT and digital innovation is DTEK. They’re also introducing a new level of customer service in their activities. DTEK is the largest private energy holding in Ukraine, investing in digital transformation and innovations across the energy sector. It’s currently growing in line with global trends, using innovative technology and a digital transformation program for sustainable growth.
Maxim Timchenko, DTEK’s CEO, thinks that innovations and new technology will play a crucial role in transforming Ukraine’s energy sector and the economy as a whole.“Three years ago, we created Innovation DTEK which works with startups, customers, suppliers, funds, universities and corporations to connect DTEK's core business with the global innovative ecosystem.”
The team has a number of ways it engages in digital innovation to improve infrastructure and logistics across Ukraine. And if these sound like gimmicks, they aren’t. The innovations are all about improving safety across the workplace and developing greater efficiency. Among its cutting edge projects include using drones to inspect power lines and employing Teslasuit augmented reality tools to help train power engineers. Drones can improve health and safety: this year alone, drones have inspected almost 400km of power lines from the air, saving the need for engineers to scale towers, and have also spotted 6640 defects which would not normally be identified from a routine investigation.
The Tesla Suits also feel futuristic, but provide a valuable service. They’re designed for power engineers and use a haptic feedback system which adds to the realism of the augmented reality experience. The breakthrough tool improves the learning process by providing a total training experience while avoiding unnecessary exposure to danger.
Most importantly perhaps, is how this new division helps DTEK introduce a culture of open innovation.
DTEK has founded an innovation education unit, called ID.School, part of the Academy DTEK. The unit allows people to learn how to become ‘change leaders’ and put forward innovative solutions to gnarly problems. Timchenko explains how graduates of these programs are actively transforming all levels of DTEK. “This approach enables quality management decisions as the context changes all the time, and we see our brand development expanding the business beyond the power market, and becoming a solutions provider and a new technologies integrator.”
DTEK, with the support of a British partner, plans to build sustainable partnerships between the Ukrainian and British innovative ecosystems. The partnership’s goal is to identify international trends when it comes to developing innovative technologies and business models at an early stage, and to then implement them across the business.
The world is changing at pace,” says Timchenko. “A new sustainable economy is emerging before our own eyes. Ukraine cannot stand aside. As such, we’re significantly contributing to creating new power production, and our strategic goal is to become carbon-neutral by 2040.”
